This Night
by Bohemian Storm
Summary: On the night of Arwen's wedding, Elrond is forced to look past his own pain to comfort another who feels as though she's lost it all.


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to Tolkien. I do own Moriel, however.   
I think I'm obsessed with the idea of unrequited love. This was also inspired by the Phantom's poem I Weep for Thee.  
This Night  
Elrond Peredhil stood on a balcony off the main hall of Rivendell, his slim hands resting softly on the rail. His thin robes were pulled tightly around him to ward off the chill of the approaching evening and he watched as his daughter, Arwen Evenstar, joined hands with Aragorn, son of Arathorn. His heart ached as he saw the light grow behind her eyes, the happiness that Aragorn brought to her was overwhelming and yet, Elrond could not help but feel sad. His daughter would be leaving him and he would return to his wife Celebrian without her. He would never see her again, never lay eyes on her eternally youthful face or touch her soft hair. She would live long past in this tainted earth and he would go on without her.  
  
A soft sigh escaped his mouth as he watched his only daughter lean in to kiss the mortal man who had taken her away. Her happiness meant the world to him, but he was selfish as well. He wanted her to come with him to the Grey Havens, to live forever with her family as she was supposed to do. It was torture, watching her dance to the music and laugh and sing like she would not be saying goodbye to her father and brothers in only days.   
  
A wind blew across him, toying with the ends of his hair and he shivered slightly. "How is she so happy?" he murmured, his hands clenching suddenly at the rail of the balcony.   
  
"She is in love," a soft voice said and Elrond turned to see Moriel, the elf maiden who served his daughter. She curtsied, her skirt flowing out around her, then joined him at the edge of the balcony. "Can you not see it, my Lord? She is in love and that makes the world disappear."  
  
"Perhaps," he answered, studying the young elf for a long moment. She was younger than Arwen by some years, yet she was blonde and fair like the rest of the elf race. Her blue eyes darted from the wedding below back to her Lord's face and she held his gaze.  
  
Elrond stared at her, having never really looked at her before, then raised a hand to catch her chin in his fingers. She blinked in surprise, but kept her gaze locked on his.  
  
"You have such sadness in you, child," he said at length. "What hurts you so on this night? Your mistress is married to a man she loves. Have you no joy for a union of the elf maiden you have served so well?"  
  
Moriel's eyes fell away and Elrond released his hold on her chin. "I am happy, my Lord," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "But I am saddened more."  
  
"Why saddened?" he asked.  
  
"Why are you saddened, my Lord?" she asked, changing the subject.  
  
Elrond's eyes fell on his daughter below and Moriel followed his gaze.   
  
"Tonight I lose my daughter," he said simply. Grief rose within him, but he pushed it down and away, then let his eyes wander back to the young elf beside him. "Tonight I lose my only daughter to a mortal man and only days from now I will leave and will never see her again. You, Moriel, will be able to watch her age and die because you serve her."  
  
Silence fell over them and Moriel studied the wedding party below.  
  
"I have been honest with you, child," Elrond said. "Let yourself be honest with the Lord of your home."  
  
"Tonight," she whispered, tears collecting in her eyes. "Tonight I lose all hope that the man I love will ever see me."  
  
Elrond's brow furrowed and he studied her carefully.  
  
"Tonight the man I love married the woman I am sworn to serve," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "Tonight is the night I must accept that I will live in this world forever, unloved and alone."  
  
The Half-Elven stared at Moriel in confusion, then looked down upon Arwen and Aragorn. The mortal man gently kissed the hand of the elf maiden, his eyes glued onto to her face and nothing more. He could not see beyond her eyes that night, nor had he seen beyond her very form for many years. Yet here was this maiden, this young, beautiful elf maiden who loved him just as strongly as Arwen and her heart was breaking for it.  
  
"He never saw me," she whispered.  
  
"You are but a servant to the Lady," Elrond said.   
  
Moriel looked at him, hurt in her eyes and opened her mouth to respond.  
  
Elrond held up a hand to silence her. "You are but a servant to the Lady and yet every elf within Rivendell and beyond has noticed you. Glorfindel has many times commented on your beauty, but Aragorn cannot see beyond the beauty who holds his heart."  
  
"I am not worthy of whatever attentions he deems fit to bestow upon me," Moriel said softly, her words rushed and filled with pain.  
  
"You are worthy of the attention and love of kings," Elrond said sharply.  
  
"Yet they do not give love and attention so freely," she replied, staring down upon Aragorn.  
  
"He will find you," Elrond told her, his fingers holding her chin once more.   
  
Her eyes met his. "Who?"  
  
"Your king."  
  
Moriel tried to look away, but his hold on her face remained strong. "I must stay here," she said finally. "I must stay in Middle-Earth and watch over Arwen until the day her soul passes from this world to another. I will watch her every day with the man I love, I will watch them grow old and die together and then I will be left alone. The only elf in Middle-Earth for eternity. The only one left."  
  
Elrond tried to find words for the young elf, but his heart could not create a beautiful lie. His heart ached now for two; himself and Moriel, servant elf to his daughter. She was truthful with everything she said. She would never die, but be forced to watch Arwen and Aragorn die together. Her heart would die with the King, but her body would live on, forced to remain in a world where there were no others like herself. After Arwen died, Moriel would be truly alone.  
  
"I give you leave," he said softly.  
  
Moriel turned her eyes to him. "No one but my mistress can give me leave from my duties."  
  
"I am the Lord of Rivendell and I give you leave," he insisted.  
  
Moriel laid a cool hand on his forearm and she smiled gently. "I will fulfill my duties."  
  
"Your heart will break," Elrond said, still holding her face.  
  
"My heart is already broken," she replied.  
  
They fell silent again and Elrond let his hand release her chin. His arm came down around her shoulders and he pulled the small elf to him. With a fierce intensity, he felt her own arms circle his waist and hug him tightly as she bit back a sob. With her face pressed into his shoulder, Moriel let her tears fall, the final tears she would shed over Aragorn, the love she could never have. The Elf Lord let her cry, holding her small body tightly and comforting her as best he could.  
  
"We have both lost someone tonight," she murmured into his shoulder before backing away.  
  
Elrond nodded. "Indeed we have. Not one of us shall forget this night."  
  
Below them, Aragorn and Arwen danced.  
  
End 


End file.
